Sanitary shower stall



Jan. 25, 1966 D. A. CARLSON 3,230,550

SANITARY SHOWER STALL Filed April 9, 1964 0 W0 A. (or/J 0/7 INVENTOR BBY I W ATTO/F/VEVJJ United States Patent 3,230,550 SANITARY SHOWER STALLDavid A. Carlson, Richfield, N.C. (1205 Dorcas Terrace, Kinston, N.C.)Filed Apr. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 358,572 15 Claims. (Cl. 4146) Thisinvention relates to shower stalls generally, and, in particular, to ashower stall which can be cleaned periodically, as for example, betweeneach use thereof.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending applicationSerial No. 233,214, filed October 26, 1962 and entitled Sanitary ShowerStall, now Patent No. 3,132,350.

This invention has utility in connection with any shower stall, however,it has particular utility with shower stalls being used by public. Anysuch facilities provided for the public is subject to the problem ofcleanliness. In other words, a public shower, like a public toilet, in ashort time, will become cluttered with debris and perhaps even oflalunless constant maintenance is provided, either by an attendant or bysome other means. In addition to the debris, etc., which accumulates inthese places, there is also the necessity of maintaining it in asanitary condition so that they will not become the means by whichcommunicable diseases are spread throughout the general public. Thiswould be particularly true in the case of a shower stall where the fearof one of the most communicable diseases of all, athletes foot, couldmake anyone reluctant to use a public shower stall without someassurance that the floors are in some way maintained in a sanitary anddisinfected condition.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a shower stallwhich will periodically clean the surface which supports the occupantthereof.

It is another object of this invention to provide a stall which willwash from the floor any foreign material deposited thereon by theprevious occupant, thereby providing a clean floor for the nextoccupant.

Another object of this invention is to provide a shower stall which willwash its fioor free of foreign material and also heat the floor andthereby keep the floor as dry as possible to make it more diificult forbacteria to exist thereon.

Another object of this invention is to provide a shower stall which willclean its floor of foreign material after each use and disinfect thefloor prior to its being used again.

These and other features, objects, and advantages of this invention,which will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the reading ofthe detailed description set out below, are obtained, in accordance withthis invention, by providing a shower stall equipped with means fordirecting a stream of fluid laterally across the floor of the showerstall after the shower stall has been used to thereby effectively washaway the foreign material, debris, etc., which was deposited on thefloor by the previous occupant of the stall. To allow this material tobe removed from the floor, an opening is provided in the stall adjacentthe floor through which the material can be washed by the stream offluid. Thus, in accordance with one embodiment of this invention, aplurality of nozzles are arranged adjacent the surface upon which theoccupant of the shower stall stands, with the nozzles positioned todirect a stream of relatively high velocity fluid across the floor inthe direction of the opening. By locating the nozzles adjacent the floorso their discharge travels more or less directly across the surface ofthe floor, the full force of the stream of fluid can be employed to washany foreign material thereon laterally toward theopening and off thefloor.

3,230,550. Patented Jan. 25, 1966 The fluid employed to clean the floorof foreign material can contain a disinfectant or the floor can bedisinfected after the cleaning process, through the same or a separatelyprovided nozzle system.

Also, in accordance with this invention, heating means are provided todry the floor after the shower stall has been used. This not onlyprovides a warm surface for the occupant to stand on but it also helpskeep down the growth of fungi and bacteria on the floor by eliminatingthe moisture they need to live. Where the fluid used to clean the flooris a gas, the cleaning and heating operation can be combined by ejectingheated gas through the nozzles. I

The invention will now be described in connection with the embodimentsshown in the attached drawings in which;

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a shower stall equipped witha plurality of nozzles arranged around the outer periphery of thesurface upon which the occupant of the shower stall stands, so the fullforce of their output can be employed to clean the floor of debris, orother foreign material deposited thereon;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1 showingthe arrangement of the nozzles whereby their output is directedgenerally toward the drain of the shower stall; and

FIG. 3 is the partial isometric view of a portion of the floor of theshower stall illustrating an alternate manner for heating the floor todry it and to make it more comfortable for the next occupant.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 and 2 comprises a showerstall, generally indicated by the number 14, having double walled,hollow, side walls 10, 11, 12 and 13, top 15 and bottom 16 which combineto form an enclosure for taking a shower. Spaced above and generallyparallel to bottom 16 is floor 17 which provides a surface 25 upon whichthe occupant of the shower can stand.

Drain 18, which connects to sewer line 19, is located adjacent wall 13and floor 17 and bottom 16 are both inclined toward the drain so all ofthe liquid used during the shower and subsequent cleaning operation willrun out the drain. To keep the occupant from inadvertently stepping offfloor 17 onto the drain, and to provide openin 13b in the wall adjacentthe floor through which the foreign material on the floor can be washedonto the drain, the lower portion 13a of the inside of wall 13 is curvedoutwardly over and spaced from the floor as shown.

Since wall 11 contains door 20 which allows a person to enter and leavethe shower stall, only its lower portion 11a is hollow. The stall isalso provided with an inner door 21 which divides the stall into a frontcompartment 22 and a shower compartment 23. As fully explained in myco-pending patent application referred to above, front compartment 22can be used for storing the occupants clothing while he takes a shower.

In accordance with this invention, means are provided for cleaning theoccupant supporting surface of the floor after the shower stall has beenused by directing a stream of fluid laterally across the surface. In theembodiment illustrated, a plurality of nozzles 24 are located around theperiphery of the occupant supporting surface 25 of floor 17 for thispurpose. As shown in FIG. 2, these nozzles are all connected to a commonheader 26 which is located in hollow walls 10, 11 and 12. With thisarrange,- ment, after the shower stall has been used, the fluid can bepumped through header 26 with sufficient pressure to cause a pluralityof streams or jets of the fluid to be emitted by nozzles 24 laterallyacross surface 25 of floor 17. These streams or jets of fluid exert alateral force on any debris, foreign material, offal, etc., which wasdeposited on surface 25 by the occupant, thus tending to move theseitems off surface 25 toward opening 13b and drain 18.

In the embodiment shown the nozzles located in walls and 12 will jetfluid across surface at an angle to the direction of travel of the fluidjets produced by the nozzle in wall 11. This will create turbulence inthe fluid flowing over the surface, which, if the fluid is a liquid suchas water, will improve its washing action.

The fluid used to clean the floor can be either water, water treatedwith a disinfectant or air. In the latter case, if air is used, it canalso serve to dry the floor as well as to remove any debris which mayhave been deposited thereon.

It is considered advantageous in most cases to not only clean the floorbut also to dry it, since moisture must usually be presentfor bacteria,fungi, etc., to survive. Therefore, in accordance with one aspect of theinvention, means are provided to dry the floor. In the embodiment of theinvention shown in the drawings, two separate heating systems areillustrated, either one of which can be used to dry the floor after thecleaning operation has taken place. Thus, as shown in the drawings, hotair generators 27 and 28 are connected into the hollow side walls of thestall, which function as conduits to carry the hot air to outlets 29aand 29b located at various points on the inside of the stall. With thissystem the shower stall can not only be provided with hot air to dry thewalls and floor of the stall after it has been used for sanitarypurposes, but the hot air can also heat the stall while it is being usedso that it will be more comfortable for the occupant. This would beparticularly advantageous should the stall be located where the ambientair is relatively cold.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternate method of cleaning and/ or drying thefloor whereby the cleaning fluid and/ or drying fluid is broughtdirectly into contact with the surface of the floor. This arrangement isparticularly advantageous for the drying operation since it improves thedrying efficiency of the fluid thereby shortening the length of timenecessary to dry the floor.

In this embodiment, a hollow floor 17 has its occupant supportingsurface 25' provided with a plurality of elongated slots 30 whichconnect hollow innerspace 34 of the floor with surface 25'. Innerspace34 provides a conduit through which fluid can flow to the slots.Deflectors 31 are then positioned over slots 30 to cause the fluidflowing therethrough to move generally parallel to the surface 25' andin contact therewith, The deflectors are preferably provided withrounded outer surfaces so they will not be uncomfortable for theoccupant to stand on. The deflectors can also provide footholds for theoccupant which tend to keep his feet from slipping on wet surface 25',thereby providing a safety feature as 'well as functioning to help drythe floor after the shower has been used.

Other means can be used to heat the shower stall and/ or heat thesurface of the floor to keep the moisture therein to a minimum. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 2, electrical resistive units 32 can be placedin floor 17 adjacent surface 25 and used to heat the surface to dry itafter it has been cleaned. Or, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality ofconduits 33 can be located below floor 17 and supported by subfloor 17athen by circulating a hot fluid through these conduits, the floor can beheated to help dry surface 25.

In operation then, in the embodiment illustrated, after shower stall 14has been used and the occupant leaves therefrom, pressure fluid isprovided to nozzles 24 through head 26 to cause a plurality of jets ofthe fluid to travel generally laterally across surface 25 of floor 1'7,thereby washing er blowing, as the case may be, any debris which mayhave been left on the floor by the occupant, off the floor t ugh pen g1% o t dra n 18. T is op ra- 4 tion can be done manually as by opening avalve (not shown) to allow the pressure fluid to flow into header 26, orit could be done automatically in any number of ways well known in theart. After the cleaning operation the surface of the floor is heated asby forcing hot air into the stall or along the surface of the floor inthe manner illustrated in FIG. 3 or by any other convenient means. Inthis manner the shower stall will be presented in a clean and drycondition to the next occupant thereof.

In many cases it may be desired to disinfect the shower stall at thesame time that it is being cleaned. For this purpose a disinfectant canbe mixed with the fluid used to clean the floor. Or, if desired, aseparate system of nozzles can be provided for the disinfectant.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth,together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the apparatus and structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed Without reference to other features andsubcombinations, This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theclaims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

The invention having been described, What is claimed 1. A shower stallincluding side Walls and a floor having an occupant supporting surfacethereon, one of said side walls having an opening therein adjacent saidoccupant supporting surface, a plurality of nozzles located in the sidewall opposite the opening and adjacent the occupant supporting surfaceon the floor, said nozzles being positioned to direct a stream of liquidlaterally across the occupant supporting surface toward the opening towash any debris on the surface oif the surface and through the opening.

2. The shower stall of claim 1 further provided with a plurality ofnozzles located in the side walls adjacent the side wall opposite theopening, said latter nozzles being positioned to direct a plurality ofstreams of liquid general transverse the direction of the fluid streamsprovided by the nozzles in the side wall opposite the opening to collidetherewith and create turbulence in the flowing streams to improve theircleaning action.

3. The shower stall of claim 1 further provided with means for dryingthe floor.

4. A shower stall having a floor with an occupant supporting surface, aplurality of openings in the floor, means for forcing fluid through theopenings, and deflecting means for diverting the fluid flowing throughthe openings along the occupant supporting surface.

5. The combination of claim 4 in which the fluid is heated air.

6. The combination of claim 4 in which means are provided for firstforcing a liquid through the openings to clean the surface and forfollowing the liquid with heated air to dry the surface.

7. The combination of claim 4 in which the fluid is a disinfectant.

8. In a shower stall including side walls and a floor having an occupantsupporting surface, the improvement in combination therewith, of meansfor directing a stream of fluid across the occupant supporting surfaceof the floor to clean the surface and means for heating the oc-- cupantsupporting surface including a flow passage in the floor and means forcirculating heated fluid through. the passage to heat the occupantsupporting surface.

9. A shower stall comprising, a floor, front, back, and side wallsarranged to form an enclose around the fl o a dr in in the flooradjacent one c said, nails, an

occupant supporting surface on the floor inclined downwardly toward thedrain to cause any liquid on said surface to flow toward the drain, saidwall adjacent the drain having a portion that extends inwardly over aportion of the occupant supporting surface of the floor to keep anoccupant of the shower stall from stepping off the occupant supportingsurface onto the drain, said inwardly extending portion being spacedfrom said surface sufficiently so any liquid on said surface can flowbelow the inner portion to the drain.

10. The combination of claim 8 in which the floor is provided with aplurality of openings connecting the occupant supporting surface of thefloor with the flow passage and deflection means for diverting the fluidflowing through the openings along the occupant supporting surface.

11. The shower stall of claim 9 further provided with a plurality ofnozzles located in the wall opposite the drain adjacent the occupantsupporting surface and means for forcing a liquid through the nozzles,said nozzles being positioned to direct a stream of such liquidlaterally across the occupant supporting surface toward the drain towash any debris deposited on the surface by an occupant of the stalltoward the drain and off the the surface.

12. A shower stall comprising, a floor, a plurality of walls arranged toform an enclosure around the floor, the lower end of one wall beingspaced from the floor to provide an opening in the enclosure between thewall and the floor, an inclined surface on the floor for supporting anoccupant of the shower stall, said surface being inclined downwardlytoward the opening in the wall so any liquid on the surface will flowtoward the opening, a plurality of nozzles located in the wall oppositethe opening and adjacent said surface, said nozzles being arranged todirect a stream of fluid laterally across said surface toward theopening, and means for intermittently supplying the nozzles with fluidunder pressure to cause said nozzles to emit such streams of fluid andwash any debris on the occupant supporting surface toward the opening.

13. A shower stall including side walls and a floor having an occupantsupporting surface thereon, a drain adjacent one side of the floor, aplurality of nozzles located in the side wall opposite the drain .todirect a stream of fluid across the occupant supporting surface towardthe drain, and means for heating the floor including a plurality ofslots in the floor, means for forcing hot air through the slots, anddeflector means for diverting the flow of hot air along the occupantsupporting surface of the floor.

14. A shower stall including side walls and a floor having an occupantsurface thereon, said shower stall having an opening therein adjacentsaid occupant supporting surface, a plurality of nozzles located in atleast one side wall and adjacent the occupant supporting surface on thefloor, each nozzle being positioned to direct a stream of fluid againstthe occupant supporting surface to wash any debris thereon off thesurface and through the opening, and means for supplying the nozzleswith fluid under pressure.

15. The combination of claim 14 in which the nozzles are located in theside wall opposite the opening with each nozzle positioned to direct astream of fluid directly toward the opening.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 583,066 5/1897Mengis 4152 910,381 1/1909 Hermann 4--161 1,997,249 4/1935 Dobbs 41522,336,402 12/1943 Kaiser 4152 2,652,737 9/1953 Longstreet 1341042,702,390 2/1955 Dillon 4153 2,778,031 l/l957 Logan 4-452 SAMUELROTHBERG, Primary Examiner.

EDWARD V. BENHAM, LEWIS J. LENNY, Examiners,

1. A SHOWER STALL INCLUDING SIDE WALLS AND A FLOOR HAVING AN OCCUPANTSUPPORTING SURFACE THEREON, ONE OF SAID SIDE WALLS HAVING AN OPENINGTHEREIN ADJACENT SAID OCCUPANT SUPPORTING SURFACE, A PLURALITY OFNOZZLES LOCATED IN THE SIDE WALL OPPOSITE THE OPENING AND ADJACENT THEOCCUPANT SUPPORTING SURFACE ON THE FLOOR, SAID NOZZLES BEING POSITIONEDTO DIRECT A STREAM OF LIQUID LATERALLY ACROSS THE OCCUPANT SUPPORTINGSURFACE TOWARD THE OPENING TO WASH ANY DEBRIS ON THE SURFACE OFF THESURFACE AND THROUGH THE OPENING.